January 3

1813 - James Calvart was Born in Pikering, England.

Calvart was a Wesleyan missionary to Fiji. He probably did more than any other person in seeing the Fiji Islands change from paganism to Christianity. He labored nearly thirty years, 1838 to 1866, in this difficult field.

Let us pray for missionaries today. May God give us some Judsons, Livingstones, and some Calvarts. Maybe, dear mother, you are rocking a Calvart today.

Somewhere I heard the story of a church that had gone an entire year without a public profession of faith. At the end of the year the board called the aged pastor on the carpet and said, "Pastor, we feel that you should resign. Not one person has come forward professing faith in Christ this year."

The pastor said, "Yes, you are right, but there was one - wee Bobby Moffat." The pastor resigned in failure, and perhaps should have, except that wee Bobby Moffat became one of the great missionaries of his day. You may have in your lap today a wee Bobby Moffat. In your Sunday school class Sunday there may be a wee Bobby Moffat. Pray that God will give us some faithful missionaries.

1852 - Charles Wagner was Born in Wildersdiller, Lorraine, Germany.

Wagner was a French protestant clergyman.

1878 - William Solomon Hottell was Born in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania.

He wrote Sunday school literature for forty-six years for the Union Gospel Press of Cleveland, Ohio. He spent sixty-five years in the ministry, and, it is said, had no formal education.

Perhaps few people influence our churches as much as those who write literature. Pray today that God will keep them faithful to the Word of God and to the Son of God. Be sure to see to it that the literature in your church is checked carefully and that it is still faithful to the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ, and the fundamental doctrines of the faith.

1884 - E. Stanley Jones was Born in Clarksville, Maryland.

1990 - Noriega surrenders to U.S.

"On this day in 1990, Panama's General Manuel Antonio Noriega, after holing up for 10 days at the Vatican embassy in Panama City, surrenders to U.S. military troops to face charges of drug trafficking. Noriega was flown to Miami the following day and crowds of citizens on the streets of Panama City rejoiced. On July 10, 1992, the former dictator was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Noriega, who was born in Panama in 1938, was a loyal soldier to General Omar Torrijos, who seized power in a 1968 coup. Under Torrijos, Noriega headed up the notorious G-2 intelligence service, which harassed and terrorized people who criticized the Torrijos regime. Noriega also became a C.I.A. operative, while at the same time getting rich smuggling drugs.

In 1981, Omar Torrijos died in a plane crash and after a two-year power struggle, Noriega emerged as general of Panama's military forces. He became the country's de facto leader, fixing presidential elections so he could install his own puppet officials. Noriega's rule was marked by corruption and violence. He also became a double agent, selling American intelligence secrets to Cuba and Eastern European governments. In 1987, when Panamanians organized protests against Noriega and demanded his ouster, he declared a national emergency, shut down radio stations and newspapers and forced his political enemies into exile.

That year the United States cut off aid to Panama and tried to get Noriega to resign; in 1988, the U.S. began considering the use of military action to put an end to his drug trafficking. Noriega voided the May 1989 presidential election, which included a U.S.-backed candidate, and in December of that year he declared his country to be in a state of war with the United States. Shortly afterward, an American marine was killed by Panamanian soldiers. President George H.W. Bush authorized "Operation Just Cause," and on December 20, 1989, 13,000 U.S. troops were sent to occupy Panama City, along with the 12,000 already there, and seize Noriega. During the invasion, 23 U.S. troops were killed in action and over 300 were wounded. Approximately 450 Panamanian troops were killed; estimates for the number of civilians who died range from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands injured.